Rice/Grains

Simple and delicious would describe this Zesty Quinoa Bean Salad. You will find yourself making this to take to all your potlucks and workplace shared meals as well as part of your weekly batch cooking. One of the things that makes this salad special is that it can be enjoyed either hot or cold. I…

One of the things I look forward to in the fall is winter squash. This week at Trader Joe’s they had acorn squash, kabocha squash and butternut! Four of the squash beauties came home with me. The humble acorn squash is lovely on its own but sometimes I want something just a little more special….

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Mexican food is one of my favorite cuisines. It’s quick,easy,flavorful and healthy. Which means it meets all my requirements to simplify my cooking by spending less time in the kitchen so I have more time for activities. Once our daughter introduced us to the Chipotle Mexican food chain we were hooked….

We really changed things up this year for Thanksgiving since our daughter Katy and her hubby Esau hosted both families for the big day. They recently moved into their first home and were delighted to have enough room for everyone. They were gracious hosts and we had a lovely time! Katy made all of…

I was inspired by a stuffed acorn squash recipe in the Happy Herbivore Abroad cookbook. I doubled the spices, added garbanzo beans, onions and dried cranberries. These changes gave it a protein and fiber boost and took it from a simple side dish to a delightful entree. We like it so much that I’ve made…

You know you have a hit when it’s time to clean up after the meal and the other guests ask if they can have some of the leftovers to take home with them! We were happy to share as I had doubled the recipe and it made a ton of food! This would be great…

I think these would be very kid friendly and a perfect entree choice for those just starting to eat some meatless meals. This is also one of those recipes that would be good to take to a pot luck as these would be enjoyed by everyone – yes even meat eaters! Next time I will…

If you don’t like corn – leave it out – if you love corn why not double it – don’t have black beans use kidney or pinto. If you like a little heat add some diced jalapeno, don’t have rice no problem- use quinoa. Sometimes I add salsa or chopped tomatoes – just depends on…

Last week I had one of the best summer salads ever – okay so I know I say that about a lot of great recipes – but this one was really amazing. It was the Health Starts Here California Quinoa salad from Whole Foods deli. The HSH deli items at Whole Foods have no added…